ticketsMember | Make a donation

The Rehearsal or the Baron and the Elephant

January 1, 1812
Not on view
Cruikshank was nineteen when he etched this pseudo-oriental procession parodying recent spectacles on the London stage. A month before, Covent Garden’s annual Christmas pantomime had featured a live elephant and the artist holds actor-manager John Kemble responsible for sacrificing traditional drama to profit. Perched on the offending pachyderm, Kemble catches coins while discarding a cloak that symbolizes his reputation as a tragic actor. The elephant advertises The Murder of Shakespeare and shakes a figure symbolizing old-fashioned Comedy with his trunk. The action played out before the elephant parodies an amateur performance by Robert Coates at the Haymarket. Coates used the occasion to insult prominent audience member, the Baron de Geramb who is shown perched on the elephant’s trunk, while Coates rides a golden cockerel.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Rehearsal or the Baron and the Elephant
  • Artist: George Cruikshank (British, London 1792–1878 London)
  • Publisher: Published by M. Jones (British, active 1811–16)
  • Sitter: William Shakespeare (British, Stratford-upon-Avon 1564–1616 Stratford-upon-Avon)
  • Sitter: Sarah Siddons (British, Brecon, Wales 1755–1831 London)
  • Sitter: John Philip Kemble (British, Prescot, Lancashire 1757–1823 Lausanne)
  • Sitter: Richard Brinsley Sheridan (Irish, Dublin 1751–1816 London)
  • Sitter: Baron Ferdinand de Geramb (French, 1772–1848)
  • Date: January 1, 1812
  • Medium: Hand-colored etching
  • Dimensions: sheet: 7 13/16 x 20 5/16 in. (19.8 x 51.6 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917
  • Object Number: 17.3.3495
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
George Cruikshank's Omnibus
George Cruikshank
George Bell & Sons
1885
Punch and Judy, with Illustrations Drawn and Engraved by George Cruikshank: Accompanied by the Dialogue of the Puppet-Show, an Account of Its Origin, and of Puppet-Plays in England
Multiple artists/makers
1828
Phrenological Illustrations, or An Artist's View of Craniological System of Doctors Gall and Spurzheim
George Cruikshank
Frederick Arnold
1873
John Bull's Examination–John Bull brought up for his Discharge but Remanded on account of Extravagence and False Schedule
George Cruikshank
S. W. Fores
1817
George Cruikshank's Omnibus
Multiple artists/makers
1885

Related Content

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.